Lint remover means for driers



June 11, 1957 .1.0. HuEBscH 2,795,055

LINT REMOVER MEANS FOR DRIERS Filed May 18, 1955 3 ShetS-Sheet l ,June1l, 1957 J. o. HUEBSCH LINT REMovER MEANS Foa Damas 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed May 18, 1955 June l1, 1957 .1.0. HuEBscH 2,795,055

' um' REuovER uEANs FOR DRIERs Y A :s sheets-sheet s Filed llay 18, 1955INVENTOR. W O. #wha/:J

BY A

LINT REMOVER MEANS FR DRIERS Joseph 0. Huebsch, Fox Point, Wis.,assigner to The American Laundry Machinery Company, Norwood, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application May 1S, 1955, Serial No. 509,363

Claims. (Cl. 34--82) The invention relates to driers and moreparticularly to laundry Ior clothes driers of the rotating tumbler type.

The object of the invention is to provide a lint trap of simpleconstruction located in the air circulating system of the drier adjacentthe circulating fan for collecting lint and from which the lint may bereadily removed by a reciprocatory scraper and dropped into a receptaclebelow the trap and which receptacle may readily be removed from themachine, the lint trapt itself being also preferably capable of removalas a unit from the drier.

This application is a continuation in part of my application, nowabandoned, Serial No. 466,091, led November 1, 1954, for Lint RemoverMeans for Driers, and is an improvement :over said application in thatthe reciprocatory scraper is Amade in two parts which act over the majorarea of the lint trap to scape off -the lint therefrom and with the aidof gravity dislodge the lint from the bottom portion of the trap.

The invention further consists in the several'features hereinafter setforth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

ln the drawings:

Fig. l is a front eleva-tion view of a drier embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the drier, parts being broken awayand parts 'being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view of the lint removing apparatus, partsbeing broken away and parts being shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a detailed vertical sectional View taken on the broken line4-4 of Fig. 3.

While the lint trap hereafter described may be used in the circulatorysystem of any suitable drier for laundry, garments, and textilematerials, I have shown it associated with a drier of the rotatingtumbler type.

Referring to Figs. l and 2, the drier includes a housing 5 having an airheater section H, a tumbler section T, and a lower section moreparticularly described.

The tumbler section T has a perforated drying tumbler or drum 6 mountedin it and supported at its rear end on a shaft 7 journalled in thehousing and carrying a sprocket 8 connected by a suitably tensionedchain C with a sprocket 9 on a lay shaft 10 which carries a large pulley11 connected by a belt 12 to a small pulley 13 on the shaft S of anelectric drive motor M. The drum 6 is open at its front end and accessthereto is had through an opening in the housing section T normallyclosed by a door 14 pivotally hinged at 15 on the housing.

The lower section of the housing includes a space 16 and a housing 17for an exhaust fan 18 which is mounted on the outer end of the motorshaft 13, the housing 17 having an inlet 19 communicating with the space16 and an outlet 20.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, within the space 16 an angled bracket member21 has its legs suitably secured as by spot welding, to the front sideof the housing 17. A bar 22 is secured intermediate its ends to the legsof ...ad ses Patenti v"icc y the bracket 21 where they join each other,said bar providing supporting arms with downwardly inclined ends 23.

A lint trap is formed of a cylinder 24 of perforated sheet metal orscreening, a front closed end cap 25, and a rear angle metal ring 26,one of Whose ilanges is adapted to abut the front side of the housing 17when the trap is positioned within the space and held up at its frontend by engagement of the ends 23 of the bar 22 with the inner wall ofthe upper portion of the cylinder 24. The end cap is provided with adepression 27 and a cross bar 28 extending over the sameto provide ahandle whereby the trap may be moved to its operating position orremoved therefrom.

With the above construction, air heated in the heater section H passesdown into the drum section and then into the space 16 and is sucked bythe fan 18 through the openings of the screen 24 and through the inlet19 and then exhausted through the outlet 20 so that any lint from theclothes or other materials in the drum 6 carried along by the air willbe caught on the outer surface of the cylinder 24.

From time to time, the lint accumulating on the screen 24 may be removedby a reciprocatory scraper preferably formed as a pair of arcuate blademembers 29 that are pivotally mounted at their upper ends on the hookedend 3i) of a `rod 31 that is slidably mounted on a guide bracket 32 inthe housing 5 and projects beyond the ex terior thereof and carries ahandle or knob 33. Each blade member 29 has a portion 34 which lrides oris closely spaced from the periphery of the screen cylinder 24 and alaterally llared lower end 35 which acts as a cam surface to move theblade away from or to clear the cylinder when the same is inserted inposition. A bracket member 36 has a channelled end 37 mounted on thehooked end 30 and extending over the pivoted end portions of the blademembers 29 and has a ared front end portion 33 to aid in guiding thecylinder to its operative position. The bracket member 36 also acts as astop engageable with the outer ends 39 of the blade members to limittheir inward swinging movement so that they can be pushed laterally to aposition over the cylinder 24 by the cam actions of the ends 35 when thecylinder is moved into its operative position. The blades 29 under theaction of gravity are free to Contact the cylinder 24.

With this construction the operator, grasping the knob 33, may move therod 31 forwardly and backwardly and thus similarly move the scraperblades Z9 over the screen 24 to remove accumulated Ilint therefrom whichis free to drop into a drawer or receptacle 40 having a handle 40a andslidably mounted and suitably guided in the bottom portion of the space16 and movable outwardly of the front side of the housing. Since theblades 29 act upon about two-thirds of the area of the cylinder andextend beyond the center line of the cylinder, only the lower portion ofthe drum or cylinder 24 is not directly acted upon by the blades, butsince collected lint tends to mat itself on the cylinder, it has beenfound that the loosening of this mat from the major portion of thecylinder also acts to loosen that part not directly engaged by theblades, and that gravity acting on this loosened mat will act to removethe lint from the bottom portion of the drum. The lint can be removedfrom the trap once or twice a day, and the accumulated lint removed fromthe drawer 40 once a week.

The housing 7 also has a removable front panel 41 closing an opening 42in line with that part of the space 16 enclosing the lint trap so thatthis trap may also be lremoved from the housing for cleaning purposes,if necessary. The front panel 41 carries a transversely disposed handle43 which projects at its end beyond the panel and acts as a bumper toprevent laundry trucks marring the housing. Panel 41 has inwardlyextending spaced slotted angle tittings`44 which engage over studs 4S'mounted in frame partsnf' thehousin'g as indica'ted'in Fig. 4.

l desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limitedto'any particular'form'orarrangementof parts except in so far as' suchlimitationsare included in the claims.

WhatI claim as my invention is:

1. ln a drier having a housingfprovided'with 'a drying space and anexhaust fan housing provided with an .inlet communicating with saidspace, the 'combination f la foraminous lint collectingcylinderrno'unte'din sai'dspac'e at the inlet to said housing, aVscraper comprising a pair of gravity actuated arcuate blade memberspivotally ,conf nected together at one of their -en'ds adjacentthe upperend of the cylinder and slidably'movableover the major portion of thearea of the cylinderand meansoperble from outside saidfirst'namedhousing and forming a pivotal support for said blades to movesaidblade ,menibers forward and back relative to saidcyliridei'.

2. In a :drier havinga housingprovided with a drying space andan exhaustfan'hou'singprovi'ded'with an inlet communicating with'said ls'pace,"the combination' of a foraminous lint collecting cylinder mounted in asubstan-l tially horizontally disposed position in said space at theinlet to said housing, a rod slidably mountedabove said cylinder andextending lengthwise'thereof and having an exteriorly'disposed operatingconnection, a pair' of gravity actuated arcuate scraper bladesengageable withthe cylinlder throughout the major portion of its-crosssectional area and pivotally suspended at their upper ends from said rodfor movement therewith lengthwise ofthe cylinder.

3. In a drier havinga housing provided with a drying space and anexhaust .fan housing provided with an inlet communicating withsaidspace, f the combination of a foraminous lint collecting cylindermounted in said space at the inlet to said housing, a rod 'slidablymounted above said cylinder and having an eXteriorly disposed operatingconnection and an inner' hooked end, a pair of scraper blades pivotallymounted at their upper ends on the hooked 'end' ofsaidwrod and` movabletherewith lengthwise of the cylinder to remove lint therefrom.

4. In a drier having a housing provided with a drying space and anexhaust fan housing provided with an inlet communicating with saidspace, the combination of a foraminous lint collecting cylinderdetachably mounted in said space at the inlet to said fan housing, anopening in said housing adjacent said cylinder to permit removal of saidcylinder therefrom, a removable. panel covering said opening, a scraperblade slidably movable overa portion of said cylinder, a lintcollectingreceptacle below said cylinder and said panel and removable from thebottom portion of said space, and means operable from outside said tirstnamed housing to .move said blade forward and back relative to saidcylinder.

5. In a drier having a housing providedwith a drying space and anexhaust fan housing provided with an inlet communicating with said"space, the combination of n toraminous lint collecting cylindermountedin said space at the inlet to said fan housing, a scraper comprisingblade members pivotally p connected together at one of their endsadjacentn theupper end of` the'cylinder and slideably movable over themajor portion of the area of the cylinderfeach Vblade having lalaterally diverging lower end forming a cam'surface cooperating with thecylinder to move the blade laterally during the replacement of thecylinder, and means operable fromoutside said first named housingto'move said blade members forward and back relative to said' cylinder.

References Cited in the le of this patent .UNITED STATES PATENTS1,189,777 'Bartholomew July `4, 1916 1,323,673 Broderick n.. Dec. 2,1919 1,327,609 Bartholomew Jan. 13, 1920 1,562,531 Watkins `Nov. 24,1925 2;l87;546 Orem Ian. 16, 1940 2,611,192 Huebsch Sept. 23, 1952

